The freeCommander author made it a bit different when he released the XE version. Also it came out with many functions unimplemented and filled in piecemeal. One of the last was the multi-renamer which was one of my favorite freeCommander functions. I still haven't seen the 64 bit release.

The trouble with a file manager is a tendency to use that as the cockpit. If you decide you made a bad choice you likely invested lots of time that has to be jettisoned unless the replacement has a similar command set and layout.

But I don't do a zillion file operations a day. So it is not really the basis of how I use the PC. A guy I worked with did everything out of X-Tree Gold. He pretty much talked me into buying it. It worked well so I didn't feel ripped off. But I got nowhere near the use from it that he did.

The difference would have been a 64 bit version that looked exactly the same as the 32 bit. What provoked the change to Lazarus was anticipation of the need to compile x64 without spending a lot of $$$

I understand. That is when it happened because to move to 64 bit the developer had(due to monetary concerns) to change to Lazarus. Since he had to write a new application he made it a bit differently. Only to be expected. But I had used freeCommander for so many years I like it the way it was. I was hoping for a 64 bit implementation with no learning curve.

Afaik the x64 version is still only in beta and given out as a "thank you" to donors. Who knows if it will ever be ready for prime time.

Well, I don't know what they did exactly in this regard, but the latest Directory Opus 12.6 update (7th June, 2017) appears to have fixed my long-standing problem, whereby launching the app in the first instance could take up to a minute sometime (freezing).

There is nothing in the release history to suggest what could have been the fix. But I'm not complaining...

Fix for crash which could occur when refreshing the folder display, opening new tabs, or renaming files in some cases.

Fixed crash which could sometimes occur with certain command sequences in a button. (e.g. CreateFolder, then open the folder in the dual display.)

The Filter Bar now automatically disables partial matching when a file type group is being matched. For example, grp:Archives will no longer match example.rar.jpg, even if partial matching is enabled.